BRITISH MOTORSPORT

MARSHALS CLUB

SAFER MOTOR SPORT

MOTOR SPORTS ASSOCIATION RECOGNISED FOUNDED 1957

Issue 8 August. 2019

John Surtees the man and the cars.

NORTHERN IRELAND REGION MAGAZINE

Issue No. 8 August 2019.

Cover Story.

Unlike today when G.P. drivers are not just drivers but brand names , the late fifties

and early sixties were totally different. With the exception of Stirling Moss who had

his own sponsorship deals and our own Paddy Hopkirk who cashed in on his Monte

win advertising all sorts of Mini tuning products the top drivers were not involved in

any sort of P.R. , that was left to the teams.

There is a simple reason ,and quite a nasty reason for this , it is not good P.R if your

driver is killed , and between nineteen 1955 and 1975 the fatality rate in F1 was

horrific with 25 drivers killed in F1 races and a further 11 F1 drivers, including Jim

Clark , killed in other races.

Today drivers like Hamilton and Vettel give more interviews over a Grand Prix

weekend than drivers like Clark would give in their whole career. So it was somewhat

of a surprise when the late John Surtees , some years ago agreed to a full and very

frank interview with writer Mike Nicks , dealing mainly with his remarkable 1960

season as he shared his efforts to win the bike World Championship with a very real

attempt to compete in car racing at the top level.

At the Solitude track which was hosting an International F2 race drivers like Jim Clark

, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill were having to learn the 7 mile long track with its 45

corners . Surtees was also learning the track but in both 2 and 4 wheels ! He had

agreed to drive Rob Walker’s new Porsche 718 F2 car in spite of having entered the

works MV Agusta for the 500cc World Championship race being held the same

weekend. Sounds mad but from March 1960 to the end of the season Surtees would

compete in 18 car races in 6 different cars together with 14 World Championship bike

races.

Although he failed to finish the F2 race he had already made an impression at

Goodwood racing a Cooper BMC against Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor in Lotus Fords. It

was his first time out but he diced with Clark and finished second close behind the

winner and some distance in front of Trevor Taylor. As a result he was offered a

contract to race the Aston Marin DBR1 but some of the Aston’s races clashed with his

motorcycle commitments.

Colin Chapman then offered him a F1or F2 drive for any G.P. which didn’t clash and

Surtees accepted. After coming second at Aintree in F2 he made his F1 debut at the

Silverstone Trophy race but retired with an oil leak. Back at Silverstone for the British

Grand Prix Surtees surprised everyone by his pace , after overtaking his team mate

Innis Ireland he came home second behind Jack Brabham’s Cooper Climax. This was

only his 8th. Car race. In Portugal he gave Lotus their first ever pole in a Grand Prix

race. By this stage he was also celebrating winning both the 350 and 500 bike World

Championships !

Chapman offered him the F1 drive for 1961 alongside Jim Clark but even then politics

reared its head , Innis Ireland having signed a contract with Lotus was incensed and

started a row. Upset with all the fuss Surtees walked away.

Looking back he says “I should have been more like Senna and not let emotion cloud

my decisions. However thinking back the Lotus was not the safest car at that time so

if I had accepted would I still be Here ?”

John Surtees 1934 to 2017 1960 Season Results.

Bike Races 14 7 500 GP wins 2 non championship wins 2 350 GP wins 1 second 350

and 1 third 350 World Champion 500cc and 350cc 1960

Car races 16 6 F.!. races 5 F2 races 7 F Junior races. 1 second place F1. 1 pole

position F1 1 second and 1 fourth F2 and 2 seconds and 2 fourth places in Formula

Junior.

A record which will stand for ever !!!

BANGOR REVIVAL FESTIVAL.

Must give credit to the organising team for the 2019 Revival Festival. With an

unprecedented number of people attending , almost 30,000 according to reports , live

50’s and 60’s music day and late into the night , a great Classic car and bike show and

the return of a fifties favourite , the annual Pickie Pool to North Pier Race .

This rare 1963

Down registered

Scootacar has just

been restored to

better than new

condition and was

on show in Bangor

for the first time.

Sold at the time as

the world’s

smallest car.

The local Chamber of Commerce were involved with many shops putting on 50’s and

60’s window displays and many people dressing in period clothing just like the

Goodwood Revival meeting.

New Car News.

Spectators at the recent British Grand Prix were treated to the first public run of

Aston Martin’s new supercar the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Its V12 6.5 litre engine is

mated to a powerful electric motor giving over 1100 BHP and acceleration close to

the first generation of hybrid Red Bull F1 cars. All are now sold !

Jaguar Boss Ian Callum entrusted C.M.C. in Shropshire to build the ultimate modern

version of the classic Mark 2 Jaguar. The cost has never been disclosed but the car

with a 4.3 V8 engine , 5 speed manual gearbox , power steering , massive disc’s and

independent suspension is the world’s fastest and best handling Mk 2.

The Ecurie Ecosse Scottish racing team has commenced production of all new Jaguar

XK 13’s based on the original LeMans winning design. A V12 engine is used with 502

BHP . Only 25 will be built with a cost of around £1 million each.

At the same time Jaguar have confirmed that the last 9 of a limited run of new XK SS

cars are currently being built . This car first announced during 2016 was like the new

Aston Martin DB4 GT sold out before production commenced.

More down to earth main stream manufacturers will produce a number of all new

vehicles during the year. BMW will have a new X7 SUV and a Z4 sports car.

Range Rover will have an all new Evoque and Renault will unveil a new Clio Sport.

BMW ‘s new 3 series comes out soon as does Jaguar’s redesigned XE saloon.

Exciting news from Honda ! The Honda Clarity FCV will be launched in 2020. This

large performance saloon is a hydrogen powered hybrid. It has zero emissions as it

only expels small amount of water from below the car and unlike all electric cars

which take hours to charge the car has a range of 500 miles and the hydrogen tanks

can be refilled in 3 to 5 minutes at special refuelling stations.

Two giants of the automotive industry died last month.

NORMAN DEWIS 1920 – 2019.

Norman Dewis will be forever part of Jaguar history. As a test driver he set records in

an XK120 in 1953 clocking 172.42 MPH at Jabbeke Highway in Belgium. He was also

the last surviving member of the ill fated 1955 LeMans team sharing a D Type with Don

Beaumont. As a test driver he fine tuned the handling of XK 120 , 140 and 150 the C

and D Type race cars , Mk 1 and Mk 2 Jags , the E Type and the early XJ6 and 12

Saloons. He came out of retirement to test the XJ-S and the new XJ 40 saloon.

Driving fast cars on the limit for 40 years is a remarkable achievement.

LEE IACOCCA 1924 – 2019.

Promoted to Vice president of Ford Iacocca he pushed Ford into the sports car market

the result being the 1964 Ford Mustang. He also befriended Carroll Shelby and

Alejandro De Tomaco , te result being the iconic Shelby GT350 Mustang , the De

Tomaso Pantera and the long term contract with Ghia design house. He was also a

pioneer of an inhouse H.P. arrangement started in the late 1950’s. He joined the

ailing Chrysler Corporation selling off the Euro Branch PSA ( today Peugeot ) and

buying up Jeep. Chrysler’s Voyager and Jeep’s Wrangler stopped the rot and both

would go on to make decent profits under his leadership. In 1988 he considered

running for U.S. President and in spite of massive support withdrew his nomination.

Fantasy Grand Prix

FANTASY G.P. AUS BAH CHI AZE Sp Mon Can Fra Aus Bti Ger Hun SCORE

James C 23 26 29 26 26 27 34 26 20 20 14 271

ROY B 26 20 33 26 23 22 27 26 20 17 11 251

Robert C 23 23 26 24 26 26 30 24 20 21 16 249

Nigel McC 21 19 21 26 24 30 22 23 15 20 16 237

Tony M 21 20 26 23 21 20 25 24 20 21 14 235

DANIEL C 26 20 20 23 23 17 25 20 20 17 11 222

Colin W 16 26 23 20 10 12 21 15 18 29 8 198

Rab C 25 16 18 21 18 20 16 17 18 11 13 193

Paul B 18 13 17 18 21 14 23 14 14 16 11 179

Wright H 19 20 14 20 14 15 23 17 14 15 5 176

Rory O'N 22 13 15 18 17 15 18 13 15 11 5 162

Paul 2 15 13 15 17 12 17 20 10 13 7 14 153

Colin W 2 17 18 13 14 16 10 14 18 11 15 0 146

Rodger C 16 12 13 14 14 12 14 12 18 8 6 139

Colin R 16 10 9 14 12 14 13 10 13 10 11 132

Goff E 7 8 7 8 7 9 8 9 9 3 13 88

CHRIS W 10 5 4 8 7 8 7 5 12 2 11 79

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500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland Ltd.

Yesterday ( Saturday 27th. July ) was a sad day at Kirkistown , with a fatal accident

During our race meeting.

We would like to offer our thanks to everyone who helped in any way after the accident.

There were many, including all marshals , rescue and ambulance crews who were

professional in the extreme , Doctors who did everything they possibly could ,

the officials most of whom had to deal with such a tragic situation for the first time,

the commentators who did their best to impart necessary information while being

aware of the gravity of what was happening , the PSNI who did a very efficient job

and helped keep the scene protected. Mark Hanna who kept upstairs in the Club

house opened as a sanctuary for those who needed it , and the competitors who

showed respect and concern , Air Ambulance N.I. who came , alas on an impossible

mission and members of the public who refrained from posting pictures on social

media.

It is at a time like this that it becomes clear just how close the motorsport family is.

Thank you all.

500 Motor Racing Club of Ireland Ltd.

It is with regret that we at the 500 Motor Racing Club have to confirm that the

Competitor who tragically lost his life in the second Roadsports race yesterday

was our member and friend for over twenty years , Doctor Paul Conn.

Paul was from Lisburn. He joined the club in 1996 and during the intervening years he

campaigned his Crossle 47S with increasing success. In 2018 he seemed to reach

a new level of skill and he began to trouble the established top echelon of drivers in

Roadsports , winning the second race at our May meeting.

Yesterday he had already won the first Roadsports race , against top opposition ,

and was on course for a repeat in the second race when he had an accident opposite

the Control Tower , on the front straight. Because of the location of the incident ,

our Doctors and the Order of Malta personnel were in attendance almost immediately

but unfortunately Paul succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Once again , we offer our sincere condolences to Paul’s family , friends , colleagues

and Team. He will be sorely missed.

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Classic Car News

Auction Houses report that values of collectable high end cars has peaked , values of

collectable Ferrari’s and Porsche cars along with early E Types have fallen back slightly

since April / May this year. As the market stabilises some investors hoping for a quick

profit are in for a disappointment.

In contrast the smaller auction houses ,like Anglia , report demand for affordable

Classic’s has never been higher.

A good example is a nice 1967 MG1100 with under 60,000 miles . £9000 was well above

the estimate as was a restored Alfa Spider S2 estimated at £12 grand , strong bidding

saw it sell for £24,600 ! Another big sale was the 1973 Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF which in

spite of needing recommissioning doubled its estimate selling for over £32 ,000.

A modest 1968 Triumph Vitesse Mk1 sold for over £11,000 and cars like Hillman Imps

Sunbeam Stiletto’s , Pug 205 GTI’s , MGC and MGC GT cars have all increased in value

from 2018.

1960’s Mini Cooper and Cooper S models have increased in value by over %20 in twelve

Months as have Beetle 1300 /1303 cars and suddenly Vauxhall cars are sexy with

VX4/90 Firenza and Magnum cars selling for 40 % above July 2018 estimates.

The for years unloved Jag XJ-S is also doing well at auction , estimates between £15

and £25 grand being quoted in spite of 12 /15 MPG.

One of my favourite cars , almost without value a few years ago , is now being sought

after by people who appreciate the performance and build quality. The 1970’s Saab 99

Turbo was way ahead of its time and a well looked after one , only worth a few grand a

Couple of years ago is now valued at £12 / 15 thousand. Wish I still had mine , bought

for £800 !

Robert’s RallyBuzz

Robert’s RallyBuzz Toner and Armstrong Star July 2019 was a busy month with regard to rallies in Northern Ireland. First off there was the Loughgall Country Park Rally on Saturday 6th. I was part of the large radio team of ten cars covering the six tarmac stages. A maximum 63 car entry took the start and most of them made it round the short (around 3 miles) but technical tests. Armagh driver Damian Toner is the current master of Loughgall having won here for the previous four years. This time would be no different and in the end Toner and co-driver Ronan Comerford finished 51.1 seconds ahead of John Bradley/Paul McKenna with previous winner Wesley Patterson and Jonny Baird just 2.3 seconds back in third. All of the top five finishers were in Ford Escort Mk.2’s. Next event was the Carryduff Forklift Down Rally on July 20th. Based in Lisburn at the Eikon Centre within the Balmoral Park Complex, the rally consisted of 11 special stages. Eight of these were closed road tests in Co.Down while the other 3 were spectator stages at Balmoral Park. A huge entry of 130 competitors had been received by the joint organisers, Rathfriland and Ballynahinch Motor Clubs. The rally was round four of the Motorsport UK McGrady Insurance Northern Ireland Championship and a counting round of the Protyre Asphalt Rally Championship. We were covering a mid-point radio on the Drumaknocken stage. Run three times during the day (SS2/7/11) and located between Dromore and Hillsborough the stage was 5.08 miles long. All three stages ran faultlessly without any major incidents. The weather was excellent, dry and warm all day. Jonny Greer was the hot pre-event favourite. The winner last year over mostly the same stages, Jonny’s company were also the event sponsors. Today he and Kirsty Riddick were in their usual Ford Fiesta R5 as apposed to the Citroen DS3 R5 they used in 2018. Greer led the rally by 23.7 seconds after five stages and looked to be on course for a second Down win, but the Fiesta ground to a halt after SS6 with gearbox woes, handing the lead to Stephen Wright and Liam Moynihan’s similar car. Top English driver Daniel Harper (co-driven by Chris Campbell) was second at this stage in his Mini WRC. On the weekend of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing/walk by NEIL Armstrong, young JON Armstrong from Kesh in Co. Fermanagh must have felt he was walking on the moon. Jon started the Down Rally in a hired Mini WRC, his first ever event in a World Rally Car. The current ESports World Rally Champion had only competed in one other “real” rally this year. He and Noel O’Sullivan were third after two stages but a puncture on SS4 dropped them back to tenth. Then Armstrong made an astonishing comeback. Fastest times on the remaining seven stages saw the 24 year-old win the Down Rally by 20.3 seconds from Stephen Wright. Harper was third and Melvyn Evans fourth in his Fabia R5. Current NI champion Derek McGarrity finished fifth after a torrid day in his Fiesta WRC ahead of a similar car driven by Steve Wood. Damian Toner and Barry McPartland were seventh overall, ahead of several World Rally Cars, R5’s and showroom category cars. The Loughgall winner was by far the most spectacular modified driver in his usual Ford Escort Mk.2. Wesley Patterson had been pushing hard in second but retired his Escort just passed our mid-point location on stage seven with crown wheel and pinion failure. Despite burning his right hand on a hot manifold while carrying out minor repairs mid way through

the day, Toner continued to fly and finished 40 seconds clear of fellow Mk.2 crew Camillus Bradley and Crawford Henderson. Stephen Wright scored maximum NI Championship points which has moved the Monaghan man right back into title contention, while John Stone finished top registered competitor in the Asphalt Rally Championship. Stone and Jack Morton were ninth overall in a Ford Fiesta WRC. A total of 121 cars started the Down while there were 91 finishers. The event was judged to have been a complete success and incident free throughout. This was the second year of the joint organisation format of this closed-road Down Rally. The only change this time out was the splitting of the Hamiltons Folly section into two separate tests. The longest stage was SS5/9 Hamiltons Folly North at 6.25 miles. SS6/10 Hamiltons Folly South was 5.50 miles and included the famous jump mid-stage. SS1/4 Lough Erne near Annahilt was 5.60 miles. The shortest tests were SS3/9, the 0.75 mile spectator specials at the Eikon Centre. Rally Diary Sat. 17th August Today’s Ulster Rally As well as a new headline sponsor, local convenience food store Today’s, there is a new one-day format for the Ulster Rally. Round five of the British Rally Championship and round six the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship, this closed-road event is based in Newry Co.Down and uses stages in counties Down and Armagh such as McGaffin’s Corner and Bronte Homeland. We will be covering timekeeping, rescue, radio and stage marshalling. Sat. 7th September Lakeland Stages Based in Enniskillen this is round five of the Northern Ireland Rally Championship and also the final round(7) of the Irish Forest Rally Championship. The usual stages around Derrygonnelly will be used. The NI championship is close with Derek McGeehan ahead on 109, McGarrity has 87, Wright 85 and John Devlin on 84 while James Kennedy has 83. Good to see a few challengers to Derek McGarrity this year. We will be providing rescue, radio and marshalling cover on this one.

From the archives.

CRAP CORNER.

Our new PRIME MINISTER.

Unseen pictures from The Johnstone’s

Family albums.

Possibly the First Prime Minister who you would not trust with your T.V. remote or the man to unite the nation.

You decide !